CIPHR Blog

Emotional intelligence can have a significant impact on your professional career. That’s why it’s vital to understand what it is, and its importance in the workplace. People have different personalities, emotional capabilities and strengths, and these factors can greatly impact the way they work.

What is emotional intelligence?

Emotional intelligence (or EQ) is the ability to know and manage one’s emotions, as well as the emotions of others.
EQ is emotional awareness – the ability to control emotions and apply them to everyday tasks. A person with high EQ is said to be ideal in a leadership position.

The difference between emotional intelligence and personality

Personality is the emotion, behaviour patterns and thoughts of an individual; it influences our tendencies and preferences. However, personality can’t be used to determine your emotional
intelligence.
On the other hand, EQ is the capacity to be aware of, control, and express one’s emotions, and to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically.

How emotional intelligence affects your career

EQ affects the everyday decisions employers make, such as promoting, hiring and firing employees. Hiring managers often look at the applicants’ emotional intelligence during thehiring process. Those with a higher degree of EQ have a better chance of getting a job offer.

The emotional intelligence of current employees is also analysed on a regular basis to determine who amongst them has leadership potential. EQ is often factored into the decision regarding pay raises and promotions.

Landing a higher position in the company requires having the right amount of experience, certifications and academic background.
However, employers also look at the person’s emotional intelligence when looking for a candidate for a management position. EQ helps an individual develop teams who are more productive and happy in their work.

Emotional intelligence affects your health

Experts have connected our EQ with the ability to take care of our body and manage stress. By being aware of our reactions to stress, we can manage stress better and maintain good overall health.

EQ also affects your outlook and attitude to life

EQ can help prevent mood swings and depression. A person with a high level of emotional intelligence typically has a happier outlook on life and generally displays a positive attitude all the time.

With a better understanding of our emotions, we can communicate our feelings in a more positive manner. We can also understand and relate to our colleagues, which can lead to better working relationships.

High EQ also allows a person to discern other people’s emotions easier and empathise with their point of view. This is an important characteristic to have when the position requires you to resolve conflicts in the workplace.People with high EQ are also better at atnegotiating with others, because they’re able to understand the desires and needs of individuals right away. It allows them to understand and provide what they want as soon as possible.

People with high emotional intelligence can motivate themselves and others

EQ reduces procrastination and improves self-confidence. It also allows us to focus on achieving a goal. Not only that, high EQ allows people to delay gratification and strive to achieve long-term goals.

High emotional intelligence is also connected with the ability for people to understand what motivates others, build stronger bonds with colleagues in the workplace and relate to them in a positive manner.These characteristics make good candidates for leadership roles in the organisation. A leader is effective when they can recognise the needs of the people reporting to him/her.

When their needs are met, people are motivated to perform better. This leads to better workplace satisfaction. A leader can also develop stronger teams by using the emotional diversity of the members to benefit their entire organisation.

An organisation that is emotionally intelligent has employees who are productive, motivated and efficient. They are committed to achieving their goals. They’re also happy, confident and likable.

Team members are able to work together in the most effective manner, and provide better results for the organisation as a whole.

As you can see, having high emotional intelligence plays an important role in your career, especially if you’re aiming for a leadership position within your organisation. It’s important to nurture your EQ, so that you’re able to learn, manage and master your emotions, as well as the emotions of others in the workplace.

About the Author

17+ years experience in the HR technology sector spanning Software Support, Account Management and Marketing. Over a decade of writing expertise, with 800+ published articles on all aspects of professional life. Article links from such sites as The New York Times, Inc, HR.com and Huffington Post. The opinions expressed in my articles are my own and may not necessarily be those of CIPHR